


Bigger Than Us

by monicawoe



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky Barnes Returns, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Protective Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 05:51:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3558500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monicawoe/pseuds/monicawoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky's in jail for breaking into the Museum of Natural History after hours. Steve's going to bail him out, and then they're going to have a serious talk. Or that's the plan anyway. </p><p>Neither of them expected Central Park to start attacking people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bigger Than Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [keire_ke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keire_ke/gifts).



> Big thanks to [counteragent](http://archiveofourown.org/users/counteragent) and [sophiap](http://sophiap.livejournal.com/) for the beta!

"He did what?" Steve asked, trying to keep his voice calm. Getting upset wouldn't do him or Bucky any good.

The officer behind the counter swallowed. He was young—twenty-two at most. Fresh from police school. "He trespassed on private property, sir."

Steve couldn't tell if the man had recognized him, or was just being polite. He also wasn't sure if recognition would help or hurt his case in this particular scenario. "He broke into the museum?"

"Yes, sir. The American Museum of Natural History."

"Did he take anything?"

"Not that we could tell." The officer's eyebrows crept up. "Does the suspect have a history of theft?"

Steve's patience was starting to wear thin. "No. He has a history of being a war hero. So I'd appreciate it if you'd answer my original question. How much is bail?"

The young man swallowed again and averted his eyes as he typed something into his computer keyboard. "I'm afraid I can't answer that sir."

"Why not?" Steve said, seething.

"One moment, let me get my supervisor." The officer picked up his phone receiver and spoke in hushed tones.

"Please do," Steve said, frowning. He pulled out his phone, scrolled through the contacts, trying to think of who'd be best equipped to help get Bucky out as quickly as possible. His thumb hovered over Sam's name, then Natasha's and very briefly Bruce's. Then he saw the obvious choice, given the situation, as awkward a conversation as it might be. The last time Tony and Bucky had been in the same room together—the _only_ time they'd been in a room together, was months ago, when Steve had convinced Bucky to meet the rest of the Avengers. It had started with an awkward, tension-filled silence, broken when Tony, instead of shaking Bucky's hand, had punched him in the jaw. Bucky, for his part, hadn't done a thing to defend himself, just stood there taking blow after blow until Steve snapped out of it and nearly put Tony through the window.

Bruce, Clint and Thor had pulled them apart, and Natasha—Natasha had taken one look at Bucky, pulled him into a gentle hug and then kissed him on the cheek.

 _Need your help. Bucky in jail. 20th precinct._ Steve typed with his thumb.

The door behind Steve opened and a gust of warm spring air blew in, followed by Tony's voice. "You rang?"

"How'd you get here so fast?" Steve asked.

Tony shrugged and straightened his tie. "This station's pretty close to the tower. Also, I may have had J.A.R.V.I.S. scanning for certain visual descriptions on local police scanners, security systems and traffic lights." He set his briefcase down next to Steve. "What'd he do?"

Steve let out a breath and eyed Tony warily. "You've been spying on him?"

"Yeah, I have," Tony said, voice even.

"For my sake, or yours?"

"For everybody's sake," Tony said, voice a hair colder. "Your buddy's not exactly the kind of guy that should be running around without somebody keeping an eye on him."

"And that somebody is you?" Steve asked, matching Tony's voice. There was anger rising in his chest and it was getting harder by the second to convince himself it was misplaced.

"Well, yeah." Tony's jaw twitched. "It sure can't be you."

The officer walked back in, followed by an older man with white hair and a close-cropped goatee. "Sir, this is Chief Riley…oh wow!" The younger man stopped mid-step and stared at Tony with a look so enraptured Steve could practically see the hearts in his eyes. "Tony Stark!"

"Mr. Stark. Captain Rogers," Chief Riley said. "Forgive Matthew here. He's new."

"You're holding a friend of mine," Steve said, fake but pleasant smile plastered to his face. "I'd like you to take me to him, please."

"Who?"

"The B and E sir," Matthew whispered. In cell 4."

"Oh." The Chief's lips pursed. He looked at Steve and smiled. "My dad's a huge fan of yours. As am I. It's a real honor to meet you."

"Just so you know, flattery gets you absolutely nowhere with this guy," Tony said, nodding at Steve. "Believe me, I've tried. Works on me sometimes. Depends."

Steve's smile turned less pleasant. "He didn't take anything. If it was really just breaking and entering, then let us pay the bail and we'll leave."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, sir," the chief said, frowning.

"Why not?" Steve said, voice lower.

"We have…reason to believe that this man is the masked shooter from D.C."

Steve, to his credit, kept his expression perfectly blank. "What makes you think that?"

"He's got the same kind of prosthetic arm. No red star, but-- he could've scraped that off, we're thinking. Matches the physical description otherwise."

"I fought the D.C. shooter. The man you're holding is my friend. Take me to see him."

"Respectfully, Captain, I can't do that. But I can show you the mug-shot so you can ID him."

"He called me, I know it's him." Steve's fingers clenched, knuckles popping loudly enough to be heard in the muffled din of the precinct. "Fine. Show me the mug-shot."

The chief nodded to Matthew, who punched something into his keyboard and then spun the display around so Steve could see. The monitor showed Bucky, holding a placard labeled with his booking ID, weight and the date and time of his arrest. He looked vaguely annoyed, but otherwise in better health than the last time Steve had seen him. Even his hair looked brushed, tied back in a tight ponytail.

"Yes. I know who that is," Steve said.

Matthew spun the monitor back around. "Great, if you could just give us his name and address--"

"Then you'll let us pay the fine and he can come with us?" Steve asked, nodding, like the motion alone would convince the officers.

"No sir, I'm afraid we can't release him into anyone's custody, but we can put his name and address in our file--"

"In your _file_?" Steve's voice rose. "That man is my best friend." His fingers curled into the counter, leaving small round dents in the particle board. "And he's leaving with me tonight."

Tony found his own throat going dry from the fury in Steve's voice.

"Sir, with all due respect, he's in our highest security cell for a good reason," said Chief Riley. "If he is who we think he is, then--"

Tony scoffed. "Look, I know you're both just trying to do your jobs, but think about this for a minute. D.C. shooter tried to kill this guy--" he pointed at Steve with his thumb. "Put him the hospital."

"Yeah I saw the photos," Matthew swallowed looking at Steve. "That was messed up, man. I mean, sir."

"So then-- why would Captain America want to bail out somebody who tried to bash his face in?"

Steve smiled stiffly.

Tony chuckled as he slapped Steve on the shoulder. "I mean that'd just be stupid."

Steve's smile faded.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "You're not calling Captain Rogers stupid, are you?"

"No sir--sirs," said Matthew.

"Release him to our custody," Steve said. "Please."

Chief Riley held up his hand. "Sorry, Captain, but we're under strict orders not to let anyone--"

"Whose orders?" Tony interrupted.

"I'm sorry?"

"Whose. Orders?"

#

It took Tony less than three minutes on the phone to convince Chief Riley's superior to hand Bucky over to their custody. Steve overheard bits of the conversation—something about an upcoming police charity golfing tournament and a jet. He didn't want to know, nor did he care, once they finally escorted them back to the cells and he saw Bucky staring at him through the bars. Bars Bucky could've easily bent anytime, if he'd been so inclined.

Steve stayed silent as they let Bucky out; waited until they left the precinct before throwing his arms around Bucky in a hug that was as desperately relieved as it was angry. He pulled back and took a shaky breath, then snapped, "Seriously?"

"What?" Bucky shrugged, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"First time you call me in months and it's from a jail cell?"

"Hey, your Pa always said I was a bad influence."

"You don't answer my calls, you ignore my emails, ditch me the few times I _have_ caught up to you--"

"That's not-- I didn't ditch you!"

"Yes you did! You telling me the only way I get to see you for more than thirty seconds is when I'm bailing you out of jail?" Steve practically shouted the last part.

Tony whistled. "Okay kiddos. Your ride's here."

Steve and Bucky turned to him with identical, confused stares.

"Yeah. Figured you'd rather take a car to wherever it is you're going."

Steve eyed the long black car parked at the corner, then looked back at Tony. "No, I think we could use a walk actually."

Tony set down his briefcase and popped it open, then pushed the armband on his wrist. The armor pieces flew out of the briefcase, unfolding as they aligned themselves on Tony's body and snapped into place. "Suit yourself," Tony said, as his visor slid down to cover his face. Pointing at Bucky, he added, "You owe me, Barnes," then took off in a blur of gold and red.

Bucky watched him leave and shook his head, scoffing as he turned back to Steve. His smile faded when he saw Steve's furrowed brow "Look, it's not like it's the first time I've gone in there after hours. Just the first time they've caught me. I got sloppy." He looked down at the ground and started walking, then added, "Fell asleep."

The sky was pale blue with the first rays of dawn, and the only background sounds were the occasional passing taxi and the quiet purr of the long black car trailing discreetly behind them as they headed down Central Park West.

"You fell asleep?" Steve couldn't keep the incredulity out of his voice.

"Yeah, I mean I'd been up for over a hundred hours, so…"

Steve's eyes flicked to Bucky. "Nightmares?"

Bucky shrugged. "Always. 'Course I have those during the day too."

"You know you can talk to me about it if you— I mean anytime. I don't care if it's three in the morning. I don't sleep much either, especially not since—"

"I get it," Bucky kept his gaze down. "And I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry I didn't call you first. But I don't want to talk about it. Talking's not gonna—"

Steve held up his hand and turned to look over his shoulder. "Hang on." He took a few steps back towards the car, which slowed to a stop.

Bucky stayed where he was as Steve walked to the front of the car and waited for the driver to lower the passenger window.

"We don't want a ride," Steve said. "So thanks, but no thanks."

"Understood, sir." The driver rolled the window up again.

Steve went back to Bucky and they resumed their walk. "But why break into the museum?"

"It's too crowded when it's open. Too many people, too much noise."

"I get that, but why go there at all? What about that place helps you sleep? The dinosaurs? The Hall of Rocks?"

"Hall of Minerals," Bucky said. "They do have some really nice quartz formations."

Steve took a dubious swig of his coffee. _Quartz formations, apparently better for Bucky's nerves than his best friend._

"But no, the room I fell asleep in— my favorite room there— is the Hall of Ocean Life."

"The fish?"

"The _whale_."

Steve ran his fingers through his hair, "Point is, you don't have to break into museums if you're having trouble sleeping. You can always call me, or just come over. That's why I gave you a key."

"I know, but I don't—" Bucky shook his head, a strand of long hair coming untucked from his ponytail. "I don't trust myself enough to be around you. Not yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Some of my nightmares—the bad ones—I wake up, and I'm not—" He turns away, looks towards the street for a few breaths before continuing. "I wake up but I can't shake the memories. The anger. The fear. I get stuck in this—this blind rage." He scoffed. "The wall near my mattress looks like Swiss cheese."

Steve kept his eyes trained on the sidewalk. "And the neighbors haven't complained?"

"Neighbors?" Bucky laughed. "Not really a neighbor type situation, per se."

"Bucky—" _Come stay with me. We can work on this together, and it'll get better, I promise. I don't know how, but it will, so help me._

"I don't want to lose control like that around you. I couldn't live with myself if I...if I hurt you again."

"You never hurt me, okay that— that wasn't you."

"Yes it _was_. It might not have been my choice, but it was still me. _I_ did that to you."

"You can't keep blaming yourself for something you had no control over!" Steve had to fight to keep his voice down. Everything Hydra had done to Bucky, had _forced_ him to do, made Steve furious beyond words. He stopped walking again and spun on his heels, glaring at the approaching vehicle and snapped, "Are you kidding me?"

The car came to a stop next to them and the driver lowered the window once more. "Mr. Stark insisted I give you ample opportunity to change your mind."

Steve shook his head, his eagerness to get back to the conversation with Bucky making him terse. "We're not going to change our minds."

"Of course, sir." The driver tipped his hat. "I'll wait here, just in case." The window slid closed again.

With a resigned sigh, Steve turned back around.

But the sidewalk was empty. Bucky was gone.

 

#

 

Steve was in a depressed funk for the next three days. He was still in a funk when Tony called the Avengers to Central Park to help fight the ' _guy wearing a fishbowl on his head that's making statues attack people._ '

It was an odd scene when Steve arrived—a jogger was running away from a bronze Christopher Columbus, an older couple was being held captive by Romeo and Juliet, and a mother was busy protecting her two sons from Hans Christian Andersen (and a duck) come to life. Steve stepped in between the family and Hans, whose fists struck Steve's shield with a loud, resounding _clang_. The mother stammered a 'thank you,' grabbed her sons and fled. Hans had one heck of a mean right hook, and knocked Steve's shield out of his grip. Steve parried but the statue was heavy and didn't budge more than a few inches. Then the duck started biting at his ankle.

"Down!" shouted a familiar and all too welcome voice. Steve dropped to the ground without hesitation and heard the click and whistle of a grenade launcher. A half-beat later, Hans exploded in a shower of bronze chunks. The duck fled, quacking angrily. Steve pushed himself to his feet and turned to face Bucky. "You ditched me again."

Bucky flicked his eyes down to the ground and then back up to Steve. "But I came back. Just in time, apparently."

 _"Get off me!"_ Tony shouted from behind them. Bucky whipped around and was immediately filled with regret that he hadn't started carrying around a phone with a built-in camera like everyone else had these days. Because the image he saw deserved to be preserved forever—Iron Man pinned to the ground, held down by Alice and the White Rabbit while the Mad Hatter bashed at his helmet with a teacup. After one more second of purely professional observation, Bucky drew his SIG-Sauer, loaded with incendiary ammo. He took careful aim and fired three times. Alice was blown to bits. The Hatter lost his head and his body fell to the ground, flailing. The rabbit had a sizable hole in its face but was still going, feet kicking out at Tony as he stood and slammed his fist at the statue. It shattered into pieces, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a broken chocolate bunny.

 _"Thanks for the assist,"_ Tony said, giving Bucky a salute before he took off, headed towards Hulk, who was wrestling three bronze bears.

Bucky walked over to the Hatter's body and picked it up, examining the small bronze limbs. "What the hell are you?"

The statue stopped flailing and its small hand grabbed for Bucky's face then made a fist and extended its middle finger.

"The magic loses its power outside the confines of the park!" Thor shouted as he ran past, hammer whirling before colliding with William Shakespeare.

Grabbing the headless Hatter statue tightly, Bucky pulled his left arm back and threw the bronze body as far as he could, just over the edge of the park. He could see its little legs kicking until it flew over the outer wall, and then it stilled, completely. There were a few shouts from pedestrians and a distant thump as it landed on the (hopefully empty) sidewalk.

"What's doing this?" Bucky asked Steve.

"Fishbowl-Guy." Natasha said, as she dropped down out of a nearby tree. "Barnes, nice to see you back in action." She gave Bucky and Steve a smile.

"How do we stop him?" Steve asked.

"He's using some kind of…magical cylinder to animate the statues," Natasha said. "We take that out of the equation and he'll just be a guy with a glass helmet."

"Magic?" Bucky arched an eyebrow.

Four large mushrooms hopped by, chasing Clint, who fell into a somersault and fired an explosive arrow into their midst. The mushrooms, only slightly worse for wear, kept hopping until Hulk leapt down from the sky and landed on them, squashing them into flat bronze discs. Hulk jumped up into the air again, disappearing into the trees.

"You got a better explanation?" Natasha asked.

"Any idea where Fishbowl-Guy is?" Bucky asked. "Because this is about to get a whole lot worse." He pointed towards the south, where the seventh regiment of the First World War's 107th infantry was headed their way, bayonets at the ready. Their bronze feet marched steadily forwards.

"He's at Summit Rock," Natasha said, "I'll show you the way."

 _"I'm on it,"_ Tony said as he flew past them.

"We'll meet you there!" Steve yelled back, breaking into a run alongside Bucky and Natasha. Civilians streamed past them, fleeing the park, though many of them stayed hovering around the edges, watching.

Falcon flew by overhead, chased by two enormous bronze eagles. "Why is this happening?" he shouted. "This makes no sense!"

"Summit Rock!" Natasha shouted back as she took aim at one of the eagles and fired, grazing one of its wings. "Meet us there!"

Falcon climbed straight up and spun down in an inside loop, sending the eagles crashing into each other as they struggled to keep up with them. Luckily, the statues weren't as smart as actual birds.

The 107th infantry chased Bucky, Steve and Natasha all the way to Summit Rock. Bucky and Steve kept them at bay while Natasha pushed forwards with Sam. Thor, Hulk and Iron Man were closing in on Fishbowl-Guy, who was standing in the center of the amphitheater, laughing maniacally. "You cannot defeat the great Mysterio!" He raised a glowing, purple telescope. "Come, my sculpted servants—I gave you life, now protect mine!"

 _"Mysterio? Really?"_ Tony said. "Anybody else ready to take this guy down?"

There was a loud, trampling sound from nearby and then a golden chariot burst through the trees, pulled by horses—no—sea-horses. A large, golden woman leapt out of the chariot, brandishing a torch.

Bucky readied his grenade launcher.

"Wait," Natasha said. "We need to focus on _that_." She pointed at the glowing telescope in Fishbowl-Guy's hand.

"You're right. Use something smaller," Steve said.

Bucky grudgingly slung his grenade launcher back over his shoulder and drew his side-arm, taking careful aim. He fired a shot at the cylinder. The telescope shook in the villain's grip, but looked undamaged.

Iron Man fired a series of blasts at the telescope, Clint shot it with a freezing arrow, and Thor threw Mjölnir at it. The cylinder sparked, sending out a shower of purple and red light but still remained intact.

"Yeah, that settles it—firepower doesn't work on that thing," Tony said. "We gotta think of something else."

Hulk growled and grabbed Mysterio who let out a yelp and tried to keep his telescope out of the green giant's reach. He failed. Hulk tossed Mysterio onto the grass and squeezed the telescope, roaring in frustration as the small metal cylinder didn't so much as dent.

"It's a mystical artifact," Thor said. "In all likelihood it cannot be destroyed through ordinary means."

"Yeah, we figured that out already," Tony said. "So how _do_ we stop it?"

"I believe we already have," Thor said, pointing at the golden woman and her chariot, all of whom had fallen still. They were still alive—or animated, at any rate—but they were no longer attacking. All of their gazes were focused on Hulk, and the telescope in his hand. Hulk shrugged and looked to Thor, confused.

"They're waiting for a command." Thor said.

Hulk tilted his large head to the side, raised the telescope and rumbled, "Sleep."

The golden woman, the seahorses pulling her chariot and the 107th Infantry all lay down and then went completely still.

Mysterio pushed himself to his feet, squared his shoulders, threw his head back and laughed. "Ha! You think you have defeated me?"

The Avengers all stared at him in disbelief.

"The Eye of Tethis was merely one of my many toys!" Mysterio reached behind his cape and threw what looked like a handful of colorful marbles into the air.

"Oh shit," Clint muttered.

The marbles hurtled through the sky. Hulk leapt up and snatched one, expecting an explosive of some sort, as did the others. He kept his fingers closed tightly around it.

At least a dozen of the marbles were headed right for Steve and Bucky. They ducked out of the way, waiting for the blast, but they bounced harmlessly a few times, and rolled to a stop in the grass.

 _"Great trick, buddy. Let's go."_ Tony said, grabbing Mysterio's arm. Thor spun Mjölnir in a rapid circle, and then he and Tony took to the sky, dragging a still-laughing Mysterio with them.

Carefully, Bucky approached one of the marbles and stared at it.

As one, all of the marbles started to let out a quiet hissing sound. Gas.

Hulk sniffed at the one in his hand and then sneezed.

Natasha and Clint immediately grabbed for their gas-masks. But the chemicals released by the small orbs had already hit their senses. Clint saw a face in the sun, grinning down at him, which was far more terrifying than the melting trees. Natasha started giggling, then laughing so hard she could barely get the gas mask strapped on. But really, Clint looked hilarious with pink polka-dots on his face.

Steve and Bucky backed away from the marbles, but it was too late—the chemicals were potent, and they'd both gotten the full brunt of the gas; despite their enhanced biologies, they both felt _off_. Steve had a hard time keeping his balance on the rapidly undulating paved path. Bucky saw little sparks dancing at the periphery of his vision, and wondered why the squirrels had all started speaking French. Also, he had a _really_ good idea.

 

#

Steve stared at the massive fiberglass model hanging from the ceiling. "That's a big fucking whale."

Bucky's head still felt heavy, the chemicals hadn't quite worked their way out yet. "I know."

He chuckled as he swung his legs slowly between the bars of the mezzanine railing, and pushed his face against the bars, resting it there. The room was huge—twenty-nine thousand square feet of ocean exhibits, and most importantly, nice and empty of people, just how he liked it. He knocked his boot against Steve's. "Let's go down there." He stood up and swung over the railing, dropping thirty feet straight down, and landed with a thump loud enough to hear, despite the thick carpeting.

Steve followed him down, staggered a few steps after landing. The effects of the gas were fading but still there. "Where are we going?"

Bucky led him to the center of the room and pointed up at the skylights, dark shimmering blue under the moonlit sky.

"This is…" Steve's eyes went wide. "This is just like being underwater," he said, breathlessly.

And then it clicked in Bucky's head, even through the lingering fog of Mysterio's marbles, the gears in Bucky's head stuttered into place. "I'm sorry Steve, I wasn't thinking. You must _hate_ this room." Steve had nearly drowned twice and it hadn't even occurred to Bucky that this room might freak him out. "Let's go somewhere else." He pulled on Steve's arm, but Steve wouldn't budge.

"No it's—it's beautiful." Steve stared at Bucky—at eyes the same blue as the ocean, even more mesmerizing in the reflected light of the displays. "Stunning." He put his hand carefully on Bucky's shoulder, still worried he'd scare him off. But Bucky didn't look like he was gonna run. Not this time. So Steve moved his hand to Bucky's cheek and leaned in to kiss him.

Bucky kissed back, gently at first and then harder. He wrapped his arm around Steve's waist, pulling him in close and within seconds they were gasping, rutting against each other like they had years and years ago, behind trees in Italy and Austria, in the alley behind the butcher shop in the summer of '39.

With considerable effort, Steve freed himself just enough to grab hold of Bucky's wrists, and then moved them both a few steps until he had Bucky pinned against the glass of the coral reef display. "I'm not scared of drowning. But I think I could drown in your eyes."

The haze still coating Bucky's mind hadn't slowed him enough to not find that line cheesy as hell. He couldn't help himself and laughed, so hard that he would've doubled over if it wasn't for Steve pinning his wrists against the glass.

"You think that's funny?" Steve asked, trying to fight off a grin.

"I think you're damn lucky you're pretty." Bucky strained forward, until he could kiss Steve again, and then Steve pressed into him, rubbing his hardening cock against Bucky's thigh. The friction made Bucky moan and he shuddered against the glass, wrapping his leg around Steve. He pushed off the display, wrapping his arms around Steve and sent them both tumbling to the floor.

Pinned underneath Bucky, Steve felt the last of the chemical fog lift from his brain. Bucky made quick work of Steve's uniform, opening the hidden zippers and latches just enough to free Steve's cock, then closed his mouth around the tip, running his tongue down the shaft.

Steve cried out, grabbing hold of Bucky's hair as he worked his mouth up and down.

#

They looked up at the big blue ceiling together, both of them more relaxed and happy than they'd been in months.

"This place really is amazing." Steve pointed up at the whale. "And so is that."

Bucky smiled. "Sometimes it's just…nice to know there's things bigger than me. Bigger than us. You know?"

Steve reached out until he found Bucky's hand and laced their fingers together.

Bucky sidled closer to Steve, until they were shoulder to shoulder. Then they both drifted, contentedly, to sleep.

#

Steve woke up to a sharp kick in his shin. "Ow!" He yelled, sitting upright as he rubbed the sore spot.

Tony was standing across from him, arms folded across his chest. "Not cool, Rogers."

"Wait--" Steve looked around, blinking against the sunlight, and tried to find his partner in crime--well, if _breaking and entering with intention to nap_ was still a crime. But Bucky was nowhere to be found. "Where's…"

"First you scare my driver, then you come back to the scene of the crime, literally fall asleep on the job. I don't know, man—I'm starting to question this whole 'history's greatest hero' thing."

"Where's Bucky?" Steve wondered out loud. With a pang of sorrow, he realized it'd probably be for the best if Bucky had slipped out before being spotted, even if just the thought of going for weeks without seeing him again made his heart ache. "We were just--we were tired."

"Too tired to get to a bed? You know the tower's only like twenty blocks away. Is it the whale? 'Cause I could probably get one made. Don't know where you're gonna fit one in that apartment of yours though. 'Course if you moved to the tower--"

"He's not moving there," Bucky said from behind Tony. He'd appeared out of thin air, and was eating from a bag of candied cashews.

Tony stumbled back a step.

The sweet scent of sugar and roasted nuts drifted up Steve's nostrils, setting his stomach rumbling. "Thought you left."

"Nah," Bucky plopped down next to him. "The guard who found us is a huge fan of yours. Didn't know who I was, or care. He saw what went down in the park. Said you earned a good night's sleep and asked if you needed a pillow." He reached into his pocket and handed Steve another bag. "Almonds?"

"I love you," Steve said, flushing when Bucky gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I got you out of jail." Tony scoffed. "Don't I get nuts?"

"Thought you were allergic," Steve said, through a mouthful of almonds.

"Only to tree-nuts."

"Oh." Bucky reached into his other pocket. "Good thing I got these then." He tossed a bag of candied peanuts at Tony who flinched but caught them.

"Thanks," Tony said, opening the bag. "You get these just for me?"

"No," Bucky said.

"So…" Tony's fingers rustled in the bag. "I was thinking…actually _we_ —the Avengers, I mean— were thinking: Barnes, you were a really big help at the park in what will hopefully go down as the weirdest fight of the year, because it's only May and honestly I don't think I want anything weirder than that this year."

"A lot of weird nowadays," Bucky said, watching Tony carefully.

"Yeah, and a lot of bad." He scuffed the top of his shoe against the carpeting and met Steve's eyes, then Bucky's again. "But also a lot of good. Like you."

Bucky stayed silent, mostly because he didn't quite know what to say to that. But also because it made Tony uncomfortable.

"Anyway, what I'm saying is, we'd like you to join the Avengers, officially," Tony said. "Whether or not you and Steve want to move into the tower, that's totally up to you. Sam doesn't want to live there either for some reason."

"Yeah, I can't imagine why," Steve said, cracking a smile. "What do you say, Bucky?"

"I'll think about it," Bucky said as he settled back down, rested his head on Steve's lap and looked up at the ceiling.

After a few more seconds of snack-bag rustling, Tony sat down next to them. "That's a big whale."

"Yeah," Bucky said, "It sure is."


End file.
